I started officially in 2013. Took about a 4 month break from them to try something else and then decided to go back when I shouldn't have. I started out with low pay and didn't get much more during the 7 years I was there which was disappointing. Obviously the more you were trained in, the more you got paid such as pre-natal and hot stone, ect. but I shouldn't have to be trained in specific modalities just to be able to make a good living.
I was burned out on 90 minutes so I asked not to be scheduled with them and I was told that I only had one option to remove from my schedule and I already had deep tissue that I wasn't offering so I couldn't also take away 90s. Last time I checked, deep tissue (deep pressure to the client) was not exactly a physical choice. You can either physically do it or you cant. So because I couldn't physically go deep on clients, I had no option of taking 90s out of my schedule unless I did my schedule a certain way. So that's what I did. I made it so they could only realistically book two hours in a row and then I would get a break. Yes I still got 90s but not as much.
You have to pay attention to your tips because sometimes the girls up front don't pay attention and they put it in someone else's tip folder and not everyone is honest.
We use to get paid a couple bucks to do enhancements but no longer do.
They recently put in a "bonus" system which is realistically unattainable unless you are a perfect person who never gets sick and
If you enjoy low key office front work and helping people take care of themselves, this job may be a good fit for you. However, there is also extreme pressure to sell memberships which can be stressful. There are no benefits, you get paid 9 bucks an hour, you get a miniscule commission of 10 on every sale, and you will not be given full time(no matter what they tell you and if you don't sell, they will slice yours hours by more than half). There are also some lulls in the day and it can be insanely boring. There is absolutely nothing to do at all but dust and wait for the phone to ring, which can make the day drag on like nobodies business. The schedule is usually made weekly if you're lucky or if it is made weeks ahead it usually changes so you're schedule is not consistent. It is difficult to make any plans or have a part time job with this schedule when they don't have the schedule 4 days before you work next. Plus, there are meetings scheduled with only days notice that aren't even written in your schedule that you have to go to whether you're working or not. Which isn't a huge deal it is just frustrating coming in for a 30 minute meeting when you already had other plans or have to come back later that day. That was the least of my troubles though. There are several scripts you have to memorize as well which will make you feel like a robot and completely devoid of any personality. If you deviate from the script you'll be criticized but if you manage to sell a membership,
ProsThe customers, mt's, and office staff are nice, the massages are given at discount to you. The office work is easy and can be fun.
ConsPoor leadership and management skills, low pay, no benefits, horrible hours and the office gets slow at times.
I finished my job at Massage Envy on a very disappointing note. When I started, I was told the position involved sales of retail and memberships as well as basic reception duties. What they didn't tell me is that as a Front Desk Associate, every responsibility of the business falls on you for $10 an hour.
Not only are you in charge of cleaning the entire clinic, booking appointments, making emails/phone calls, etc., etc. You basically do the therapists' jobs as well. It was my job to have a very detailed consultation with each and every non-member client. Sit them down, ask them questions about everything from daily activities to concern areas to health history. Mind you, I am not a massage therapist nor were any of the other FDA's. Therapists HARDLY ever talked to their guests before or after sessions. I always found this to be a huge disservice to the customers. After sessions, therapists would grab their clients water and say some watered down statement like, "You had tension in your back. Drink water. Bye." and then disappear to the break room. It was then OUR responsibility to corner the client, sit them down with an iPad, and explain in hyper detail what the therapists found and recommended based on the session. Mind you, I have no education or certification on anatomy, massotherapy, or any physical treatments unlike the therapists who do. Why where the FDA's the people who had to explain massage techniques, targeted muscle groups, or the things that the therapis
Massage Envy varies from location to location, as it's a franchise. Many of the employees at the Glendale location, which is the flagship of Los Angeles and one of the oldest locations in the area, had come from other locations with better stories of the work environment. The work is fairly consistent - sometimes, too much so, where you will be overbooked with barely any time to rest or recuperate in between massages. You are able to set a limit of how many hours in a day you can work or how many hours in a row, but oftentimes I was booked over my limit without even time to rest or eat.
When I was hired on, it was with the idea that healthcare benefits would eventually be available. In their job postings, they list healthcare at some locations as a benefit, even though it is not the case (Specifically the Glendale locations lists this in their employment ads even though they don't offer it). They hire people through intentionally misleading posts and interviews. We were also led to believe that we would be making minimum wage at 8/hr when we are not massaging, in addition to the 15/hr when we are working. This was also not the case. As soon as I was hired on, management changed and we were forced to sign tons of new paperwork removing the small perks we had. They offered very small incentives like free massages for doing 12 enhancements, then abruptly changed the way they are handled and people who had earned (EARNED, by WORKING, very hard) these perks then lost them all.
ProsConsistent work, good coworkers, upscale clientele
ConsNo perks or benefits, benefits offered are usually taken away, low pay, misleading incentives
Good staff....management doesn't know enough about massage therapy...
I no longer work for ME. I do not regret working for ME because I gained some experience.
Pro's: Almost always busy. Great clients. Great co-workers! I loved all of my co-workers. We were really like family. I made life long friends and I do treasure friendship with them!! It was very humbling how much each of us cared for the other! I may never have that close of a work "family" again. That was the best part for me!!
Getting to choose how many sessions you do in a row.
Hour lunch breaks.
Con's:
You only get paid per massage session. If you are slow you can't go home and if you decide to you could get written up. I understand someone may walk in...but sitting at work for an 8 hour shift and doing nothing and getting paid nothing sucks. Thank goodness that only happened once...
High turnover for front desk staff. With new front desk associates coming and going it's hard to learn them or get to know them. Let alone work on them so they can see how we work and it's easier to refer us to a client who has never been there.
Management was ok. Our owner was awesome!! I really respected our owner. I didn't feel the front desk team new enough about massage. Especially the owner and clinic manager. There were times someone would come in and be booked to see us for massages we didn't personally offer (lymph drainage, reflexology, hot stone - examples) and we would be asked to fake it. I wouldn't. They didn't like to cancel sessions for any r
ProsRead review....
ConsRead review....
1.0
Front Desk Receptionist | Austin, TX | Dec 23, 2019
Depends On Your Owners and Managers
Working at Massage Envy as a Front Desk Associate is not profitable, it will not grow your strengths in your career path, and it is unrewarding. During a normal day of work, you will check clients in and out, up-sell them extras, and handle customer complaints. In between the check-ins at the top of the hour, you will sit there and accumulate dust. If you aren't the only person working, you might be able to leave the desk and clean the facility that you're in. Depending on your management, you may also need to clean the clinic as well during the night shift. Anyone can tell you that simply spot treating a clinic where clients are handled physically is not very sanitary. At my location, it is up to the Front Desk to keep the clinic clean, and sometimes the massage therapists will clean their own rooms if they have a cancellation.
You will also sell memberships to clients who don't already have them. You will be trained online to say the correct scripting, and you might even go to a sales training. From my own experience in sales, the way that selling is handled here leaves something to be desired. At the franchise I work for, you will not receive commission unless you sell enough of the products/memberships. Their goals will be high, and you will be written up if you do not meet them.
You are expected to keep an image at Massage Envy. You will need to look chic and stylish in their scratchy uniforms. I personally have never been the girly girl type, but there is pressure fro
The work environment is very stressful at times maybe even hostile compared to other companies.
The therapist takes all heat but little of the glory. Massage can be very difficult to match up with the right Therapist. It starts with the Front Desk. However, often the therapist is given the client before any Forms have been filled out with 5 mins total for client prep and pre-evalulation/assessment can be very difficult especial with Clients that have medical issues.
Massage Envy has gone Electronic forms now..... The system isn't perfect and often errors. Can leave a Therapist at risk and at the time the system doesn't let you change or correct the session and the client has no way of to initial changes. Clients often forget to mention in the 2 mins of pre-eval what was wanted or needed. Massage Envy has a no add areas of focus policy once the session starts and even if a Therapist does add (and it happens trust me) no way to initial on the changes thus its the Clients word against yours so the Therapist is taking a big risk because Massage Envy generally backs the Client first. If the Therapist follows the rule to the letter, the Client then is unhappy and reports that the Therapist did not do what was asked. Often the Therapist is reminded about being written up more often than they have negative reviews and complaints
Back in the Paper days it took seconds to make the change on paper and the client initials.
Massage Envy takes a very structured approach to Ma
ProsVery Structured Environment, Free CEUs and Train, possible advancement
ConsHigh turnover rate of Employees, A lot of stress is place on the Therapist to perform to Perfection or hit the road, low pay weird pay structure
A TYPICAL DAY:
--A ypical day at work looked like a 50%-75% schedule depending on how slow it is and the time of the year
--During more busy times (of the year) you will be 100% booked
WHAT I LEARNED:
--I learned that how to keep up with the average flow of the clinic while still adhering to my own scheduled appointments
MANAGEMENT:
--The Management is currently great
--as long you effectively communicate your needs and generrously follow up they are on top of it
--I usually hear that it varies from employee to employee
-- also it depends on how well the employee does on following up with their unanswered questions, time off requests, injuries, and other general needs of the work place
WORK PLACE CULTURE:
--Your coworkers are very compassionate as you get to work around like minded people who share the same passions as you do
--they understand joys and frustrations because they do the same job you do
--it also depends on your personality but just like any place there are those you enjoy and some you unfortunately don't
--however those problems with coworkes or therapist to management are easily avoidable if you make it a point to avoid them or are willing to openly express your concerns
THE HARDEST PART ABOUT THE JOB
-- you will be scheduled a shift, and if you don't have a session you are required to report every half hour to make sure if they book you, you are present to perform the service
-- also if you
ProsUsually Work Balanced out, they provide ALL Supplies and do the laundry
ConsNot Getting Paid if not in a Treatment Session, lacking enough pay
1.0
Front Desk Receptionist | Brentwood, CA | Apr 21, 2016
The job that made me quit ANY sales posistion
When you go to your interview, they will tell you the job is non-commission based. LIE. Your "non-commissioned" pay lasts only until the end of extended training where the managers let the co-workers train their employees because half of them are training themselves. They constantly hounded me to memorize a sales script, then said I was too robotic to the point it made me not want to memorize any of the pitch.
Then the kicker, once training ends if you do not meet 25% sales commission, expect to have your hours and your pay cut with a chainsaw to unworkable conditions. The management was almost never in the office. Gossip occurred constantly, no benefits and the most unprofessional training I have ever witnessed in my life, because the management expects Co-workers to do all of that work for them. When I struggled to memorize the sales pitch (because the company changes policies at the drop of a hat) they management basically went cold, and said they were willing to do whatever it took to get their FDA's to sell memberships, but exhibited zero follow through on this promise.
My "free massage" actually made my back worse after back-planting into the shower, and if your thinking about sick-time forget it. Co-workers were friendly, but they should NEVER have to be put in the position of having to do the managers jobs of training!!! It doesn't matter how well you perform even remotely, this company is a bait and switch and sales is all that matters. When most clients come
ProsFriendly Co-workers, decent commute, slightly above average minimum wage
ConsTerrible management, non-existent training, constant employee gossip, bullying tactics, underpaid, the flexibility of a rigid board of wood, inconcievably unorganized and unprofessional training done by employees, managers who almost never show up.
I worked at ME for over a year. At first it seemed pretty awesome, discount massages/facials, relaxing environment, awesome managers. It seemed ideal. I loved the managers when I first started. The other SA's were alright, but they were all young and could be catty. It quickly went downhill.
The managers slowly stopped doing their jobs. It would take hours for them to respond to you, if they did at all, but demanded every decision be made through them. The LMT's for the most part were awful. AWFUL. They were mean and hateful to the SA's. To the point of harassment, which was ignored and swept under the rug. There were no reprimands for people who continually called off. Many nights, particularly Friday, I would work by myself for weeks in a row, because the other person would call off and there was no one else to help. The pay you get is not worth the stress. Sometimes it was downright disgusting to work there (i.e. having to dig through bags of dirty linens because they couldn't coordinate with the linen people properly, constantly scrubbing bathrooms because they didn't want to hire a plumber to fix the toilet that over flowed every time it was used). Everyone talked about everyone behind their backs. I was an adult, trying to work there to survive and pay my bills. During my interview I was promised after a probation period of 60 days I would get a raise, which I never did. There's an overabundance of ME in Pittsburgh, so sales can be hard to come by. And there was a pe
Prosuh. none.
Consdrama, lies, no decent pay, cut hours, stressful, no communication with mgmt
Questions And Answers about Massage Envy
What is the best part of working at Massage Envy?
Asked Oct 22, 2019
The team. ❤️
Answered May 13, 2022
Flexible schedule and always busy
Answered May 13, 2022
How flexible are your working hours at Massage Envy?
Asked Mar 18, 2020
Pretty flexible
Answered May 7, 2022
Massage envy. When I'm looking for esthetic work most people see you're hiring big turnover shows dissatisfied employees. With most companies, happy employees stay longer. Also, a lot of clients notice turnover and might not renew their membership. Client's notice disruption.
Answered Feb 23, 2022
Do employees get benefits working at Massage Envy?
Asked Jun 27, 2016
The options I had were terrible and pay was bad enough to still get state insurance
Answered Jun 5, 2021
I work full time, sometimes more than the average full time MT, and let me tell you that i have zero benefits from this company because they will deduct ridiculous amount of money out of your paycheck every month for those benefits, so i cannot afford their benefits. No one has these so called benefits at my work. Im honestly looking for another job.
Answered Nov 27, 2019
What is a typical day like for you at Massage Envy?
Asked Mar 18, 2020
Back to back massages with less than five minutes to flip your rooms.
Answered Nov 27, 2020
You usually are doing the task list which includes looking out for the next day to week and contact clients, contact any members who are suspended, new clients, and any reschedule as needed.
Answered Nov 19, 2020
What questions did they ask during your interview at Massage Envy?
Asked Feb 3, 2018
Had me sell them products within a scenario, what the importance of consistent skincare is.
Answered Oct 26, 2021
Licensing, Insurance, Background check, School history, Massage history.
You will have to perform a practical on management.
